A founding partner of E. Bruce Harrison Company, which was among the country's top 10 owner-managed public affairs firms prior to its sale in 1996, she created and directed programs in the public interest comprising diverse stakeholder groups, including the National Environmental Development Association, a partnership of labor, agriculture and industry working for a better environment.
Appointed by President Bush (1990) to the President's Export Council, U.S. Department of Commerce, Ms. Harrison served on the executive committee and worked to strengthen export promotion programs on behalf of U.S. business. She also chaired the International Committee, Small Business Advisory Council, Small Business Administration, and in 1992 was appointed to serve on the United States Trade Representative's Service Policy Advisory Council. In 1997, Ms. Harrison was elected co-chairman of the Republican National Committee and served until January 2001.
Ms. Harrison received an honorary doctorate from the American University of Rome in 2002. In 2000, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Public Service of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania. In 1992, she was a Visiting Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.